REALISING 2030

The future of work

REALISING 2030

The future of work

Emerging technologies are impacting work as human-machine partnerships accelerate.

Emerging technologies are helping people prepare for, find and engage in work in ways that have never been seen before. The Institute for the Future is exploring how these technologies are poised to intersect with evolving social and economic forces that will define the future of work in 2030.

AI on the Job: Robot Co-Workers

Is AI really coming for all of our jobs? To find out, we asked leading AI experts to clearly define the role of machines in the workplace.

Inclusion. Empowerment. Fluency.

Transforming the future of work by 2030

Technologies are transforming many of the fundamentals of commerce and production, as well as dismantling barriers to economic participation. Our researchers cite three key shifts that will drive progress across the globe.

Inclusive talent

Human-machine partnerships will make it possible to find and match people’s unique capabilities and compatibilities.

Empowered workers

Real-time and immersive collaboration will empower workers across the world.

AI fluency

A deep understanding of AI will unlock human potential and set workers apart.

Inclusive talent

Human and machine partnerships will create more equitable workplaces by evaluating candidates based on their capabilities, rather than gender, age or class.

For example, organisations will rely on AI to reduce human bias in the hiring process, guide the creation of optimal teams in the workplace, and help design incentives to increase productivity, morale and retention.

67%

of business leaders expect to use new technologies to create equal opportunities by removing human bias in decision-making1

Empowered workers

Over the next decade employees will collaborate in entirely different, immersive ways as technologies, such as XR (extended reality), empower them more than ever before.

Real-time collaboration practices already embedded in gaming, coding and distributed communities will be used to enable more connected ways of working. Entire teams will be able to look at, touch and interact with work together.

86%

of business leaders plan to use emerging technologies to improve workforce productivity1

AI fluency

AI will complement and augment human capabilities rather than replace them. AI fluent workers will use their skills to manage workflows, accomplish tasks and more easily understand and use the data we collect.

By 2030 a deep understanding of AI and human and machine systems will unlock human potential and set workers apart.

70%

of business leaders would welcome people partnering with machines/robots to surpass our human limitations1

Realising the digital future

By 2030 new human-machine partnerships will enable us to surpass our limitations and rid the workplace of age-old inefficiencies and inequities. The steps we take today, including modernising infrastructure, inspiring employees and deploying software, will lay the groundwork for the digital future and the next wave of technology-led human progress.